Charles r



(No Model.) v

C. R. VAN OSDEL.

LUMBER DRIER. v No. 418,773! Patented Jan 7, 189(1;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. VAN OSDEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDGEORGE W. STRAIGHT, OF SAME PLACE.

LUMBER-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 418,773, dated January7, 1890.

Application filed December 13, 1888, Serial No. 293,499. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. VAN OSDEL,

residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and acitizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Lumber-Driers, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is alongitudinal vertical section of a lumber-drier, and Fig. 2 is an underview of the sprinkler part.

My improvements relate to that class of lumber-driers whereinsubstantially the same volume of air is circulated around and throughthe drier without being discharged therefrom; and the objects of suchimprovements are to more quickly and thoroughly extract the moisturefrom the circulating air, to dispense with a separate condensing chamberor section, and to improve the construction and arrangement of theheating-pipes.

In the drawings, A represents the truck or car rail mounted uponsuitable supportingtimbers.

B is the roof or top of the drier.

C D are counterbalanced end doors.

E are suitable walls or supports for forming the heating-chamber.

F is an inclined floor.

G is the ground-floor.

H H H" are sections of steam-heating pipes.

" a is a sprinkler-pipe.

b b is an induction or water-supply pipe.

0 is a spray or falling water.

cl is a faucet.

e is a secondary sprinkler-pipe.

f is an inclined spatter-board.

g is a trough.

h are valves for opening the ends of the pipe a.

The kiln proper is composed of the parts A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, whichare of the usual construction and are shown in the usual and well-knownmanner of constructing such parts for large lumber-driers, and theordinary entrance and cooling chambers may be provided at the ends,ifdesired; but the ordinary separate eondensing-chamber is dispensed with.The circulation of air is indicated by the arrows, and areversecirculation is prevented by the dropping of one end of the floor F, asshown. The heating-pipes H are made with an under section nearly thelength of the kiln, as shown. The second section H is made aboutone-half the length and the third section about one-third the length ofthe pipes H, which construction and arrangement of pipes produce abetter heating of the air than with the arrangement of pipes heretoforeused in such kilns. As the hot steam, which is admitted and dischargedin the usual manner, gives the air its full heat at the point ofdischarge into the kiln, at the opposite end the movement of the air isslower, so as to give more time for heai? m it or near the top of thekiln, and extending transversely across the same, I locate thesprinkler-pipe a, which pipe is provided at its under side with a seriesof fine holes, as shown at Fig. 2, for spraying the water across andthrough the moving body of air, and by so spraying it this air is morecompletely brought in contact with the cold Water, so as to morecompletely condense and exhaust therefrom the moisture taken up indrying the lumber or other articles placed within the kiln. Theperforations in the pipe at will be sufiicient if the pipe is kept leveland under some water-pressure while in operation; but for a low-waterpressure, and to prevent the water running along the under side of thepipe in case of its sagging or getting out of level, the pipe may beprovided with short jets or nipples in place of a perforation, whichnipples may also be provided with cross-holes, like those of agas-burner, for the purpose of giving the water an additional spraying.

is spattered off against the back of the trough g, as shown, while aportion drips to the bottom ofthe trough, thus causing the air in itscirculation to pass through three condensing jets or sprays of coldwater, which thoroughly condenses and extracts the moisture from theair, so that when it again enters the kiln at the opposite end it isagain in condition t2 The condensing water strikes 7 against theinclined plate f, and a portion of it take up moisture from the articlesto be dried. An additional jet-pipe e may be applied to the floor F atits lower end, which will give a fourth spray, if for any reason the airis not sufficiently dried before reaching this point, and in someconditions of the atmosphere this piping may be used alone.

The supply-pipe Z) is connected with a tank, hydrant, or other source ofwater-supply as may be most convenient, and it is provided with a faucet(Z, to which a hose can be attached, and by the use of such hose astream of water may be directed against the under side of the pipe 0, toclean out the perforations when they or any considerable portion of themhave become clogged, and the pipe at is also provided with valves at theends, so as to permit of a stream of water flowing through them wheneverthe pipe requires cleaning. It will be understood that the verticalsection I) of the supply-pipe is attached to the side of the kiln, so asto be out of the way. By this construction and arrangement of thecold-water condenser I am able to dispense withthe condensing-sectionwithin the drier, so as to obtain more room, and in passing the waterthrough the moving body of air I not only condense and take out of itthe steam and moisture carried by it, but 'I also wash out the gums andother matters which have been vaporized, so as to keep the body of airwhich circulates around within the kiln pure and clean and in a perfectcondition for dry- W'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is as follows:

1. The combination, with a drying-kiln, of the elevated cold-water-spraypipe at, the inclined spatter-plate fiarranged in the base of the kilnbeneath the spray-pipe and receiving the water-spray therefrom, and atrough g,

arranged under the lowest edge of the spatter-plate and receiving thewater from the latter, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a drying-kiln having a railway for the trucks,of the elevated cold-water-spray pipe at above the railway, the inclinedspatter-plate f, located beneath the railway to receive the water fromthe spray-pipe, and the trough g, arranged under the lowest edge of thespatter-plate, and having a rear wall against which the water is thrownfrom the spatter-plate, substantially as described.

The combination, with a drying-kiln, of the elevated cold-Water-spraypipe 0,, the inclined spatterplate f, arranged in the base of the kilnto receive the water from the spraypipe, the trough g, located below thelowest edge of the spray-pipe, the secondary coldwater-spray pipe e,arranged under the spatter-plate in advance of the trough, and anairheater, substantially as described.

4:. The combination, with a drying-kiln having a railway for the trucks,of the floor F, inclined downward toward the rear of the kiln, thecold-water-spray pipe 6, arranged at the lowest end of the inclinedfloor, and the steam-heater arrangedv below the railway and extendingunder the inclined floor toward the said spray-pipe, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with'a drying-kiln, of the cold-water-spray pipe ain the top of the kiln, the cold-water-spray pipe e in the base of thekiln, and the inclined spatter-plate arranged between the twospray-pipes and receiving the water from the uppermost spraypipe,substantially as described.

CHARLES R. VAN OSDEL.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS,

HARRY T. JONES.

